


Dear Readers and Authors...

by RinRin24



Category: Original Work
Genre: Guide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-11
Updated: 2018-02-11
Packaged: 2019-03-16 19:20:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 5,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13642815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RinRin24/pseuds/RinRin24
Summary: Hi!So this a summary of what problems I have encountered here on AO3 about readers and other writers. I have to say that this is pretty personal, but from what I've seen around here I think that everyone can relate to at least on of the problems I will list in these 7+2 very short chapters. I've tried to list the problem from both part'ss view, but if you feel like adding anything, then please, feel free to do so in the comments! :)More about this in the "first chapter".





	1. Dear Readers and Authors

Dear readers and authors,

this is for you. This is for you to understand what it’s like to be the author of your favourite fanfic, what it’s like to be on the “other end” of the fanfiction. The alternative title for this would’ve been “Those bitchy authors”, but I deemed this more fit, because I’m addressing this for you, because I want you to understand why we bitch when we do.  
I will address problems like comments, pace of our writing and just simply appreciation. But I will also address things that can be problem to readers, because I know that this isn’t a one sided thing. I’m also a reader myself beside being a fic author.  
So, let’s just get started! If you’re a reader, then I hope I can help you see things from our views, and if you’re an author, then I’m pretty sure you can get behind at least one of the things I’m about to list now.  
But as always, I have to add, that these are my opinions, and as much as I will try to explain things as cool-headedly as I can, I can’t promise anything.  
And in the end, I hope that I can give something to you with this, and am not just stealing some precious minutes from your life.

I'm going to use my examples during this whole thing, since I can only start out from myself, but I'm very interested in your experiences, so please, don't be afraid to share them in the comments or on Twitter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Talk to me on Twitter: [Rinrin2442](https://twitter.com/RinRin2442)


	2. Problem #1: Pace of the writing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What the main problem is with this topic can be summed up in this one sentence: It takes you 3 hours at max to read a 20K+ fic, but it takes the author weeks to write.

What the main problem is with this topic can be summed up in this one sentence: It takes you 3 hours at max to read a 20K+ fic, but it takes the author weeks to write. And sometimes people just don’t sense this, they just can’t feel how much of work and how many hours are put into that 20K+ story. 

I’ve been writing on the internet for 6 years now, and this has never been an issue for me before I started writing fics which I uploaded AO3. I personally am a fast writer, but not everyone is like that. Some authors spend days, weeks planning their chapters, carefully working out every paragraph, every dialogue and every single thing that affects the storyline in that chapter. Some has troubles writing dialogues that come naturally for others, while some struggle with descriptions of something. And honestly, I have so, so, so much respect for these authors because their stories turn out always being a quality story. They are AMAZING. 

And even of not very author is like that, one thing is the same. They all need their time to write. 

When I was updating my first multichaptered fic onto AO3, I updated on every fourth day. It came easily and I was in the mode to write, and the time was right for that fic to be written. When I was uploading my second multichaptered fic, I needed to go to a hiatus right after the second chapter, because I just couldn’t do it. It just didn’t feel right. And when I came back, I updated very slowly, until like the sixth or seventh chapter (out of eleven.) And then I sped up again, because it was the moment it needed to be written. 

Every author has the story that comes easily to them. They have the story that they had struggled with and cried tears and literally forced themselves to write it just because they didn’t want to disappoint you guys, readers, who were waiting for it. 

So when an author updates slowly, there’s a reason behind that. They may have a writer’s block. (Because it happens to everyone.) They may have troubles with the storyline. (Because usually never goes in the way you want it, even if you are the one writing it. The story starts writing itself eventually.) Or maybe have tendon sheath inflammation. (Because all of us has gotten it at least once. And it hurts like hell. And we never wait for it to heal, because we need to write. Because we know that you are waiting for it.) 

And when you ask for more and hurry the author to write the next chapter… 

I know that this is one of the biggest compliments an author can get, because it means their story is interesting, but there’s a way this is right to say. I know that you mean well when you write “When’s the next chapter coming up?”, “When’s is your next update?” and as time goes between two updates, these comment become “Update????” or “Are you done with the next? When will it be up?”. But just like you grow irritated because you want to know what happens next, so does the author get frustrated also. We know you’re waiting. We’re trying. 

But writing a chapter is a lot of work, especially if we want it to be good and a quality thing and not just thrown in words and nonsense story.   
You need time for good work and even more for shit one. 

So please, don’t try to hurry the author, because you shouldn’t put more pressure onto them than they already place on themselves.   
But please, don’t misunderstand. It’s alright to ask when’s the next chapter coming up. It’s alright to be curious. Just don’t be rude about it, and don’t think that it feels nice to the author when you only write “the next???????” in the comments.


	3. Problem #2: Comments

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh those comments...   
> (Please, read the whole thing and don't stop at the half, because you think I'm only talking about the bad things or that I'm talking shit about every silent reader.)

This is a problem I personally have experienced a lot, just because I myself am a comment freak who needs the feedback about the story. Did you like it? What did you like about it? Or did you not like it? And if you didn’t, what was the problem with it? 

Comments are the best and basically the only way the author can get a feedback that really help him or her in getting better at what they do. In comments, you can tell them what you don’t like about the story or if there’s a problem with the logics of the story or if they had made a mistake somewhere. But if you don’t let them know and just wait for them get better on their own, then let me tell you one thing:   
They won’t. Because they don’t know what they should improve on. 

Whenever I update something, I’m always sitting next my phone or my computer, waiting for the first comments to show up, so I’ll know what my readers think about the story. Because this way I can get to know what you guys like, what you guys think, and I can alter my style, the story if it needs or improve on it. 

I know that a lot of readers think, it’s just a pain in the ass to comment. But do you think about how much of a pain in the ass is to write that freaking 20 K+ fic? I’ve actually some of these readers, that admitted they would not comment even if I begged them, but on Twitter, in DM, they actually demanded answers from me about why I’m not writing what they want me to write or why I’m not making multichaptered fic from a drabble they liked. 

Firstly, I won’t write it, because I don’t want to. Period. I wrote it as a drabble because I wanted it to be a drabble. If you want a continuation, then feel free to write it, just ask for a permission first from me. I’ve never said no to these, and am always happy to read fics that were inspired be mine. 

Second, how the hell do you expect me to know which drabble you liked or what you actually want me to write, if you freaking not letting me know in the comments? You got lucky with me, I have Twitter where you can talk to me, but there are a lot of authors who don’t have one. Then there you are spreading hate on them in platforms they can’t see because of this. BECAUSE YES, I’VE ACTUALLY ENCOUNTERED THESE PEOPLE. And all I can say, is grow up and man the fuck up and take the time to write that 2 sentence comment, if the story is really worth enough to spread the hate and bitch for the author in private. It saves time for both you and the author. 

Once again, I need to add, that not all the “silent readers” are like this. I’ve talked to some of them also, and they were all sweethearts. These are those people that don’t leave comments because they think they don’t have anything new to say, or that they comment would not be important to the author because of a reason like they’re not authors or they haven’t commented before. Maybe they are just shy. Or they aren’t native English speakers. For you guys all I have to say is: all the comments matters. If it’s just that that you like the fic and follow it, even that makes an author’s heart go all crazy and makes us feel better a lot. It doesn’t matter if it’s not a deep comment, you don’t need to say “new” things, even just letting us know that you like the story and follow it is enough. 

Or if you are not native English speaker, please, don’t be afraid to comment. I had many of you guys telling me this in your comments, and I can assure you, a few misspelling or bad grammar won’t make me appreciate your comment less. If so, it means even more to us, because you overcame your boundaries to let us know that our story means something to you. There isn’t a bigger… “gift” you can give us.   
Because sometimes this one comment can bring back an author’s will to write. A comment is a form of appreciation towards the work and the author, especially if they ask for it. We usually hate our works and are never satisfied with it, so it really means a lot when you tell us that we have done a great job. It’s more than enough. You don’t need to write us pages, two short sentence is enough:   
_“Thank you for updating. It was great.”_  
And we will cry tears of happiness from this. Seriously. 

Also, please, think about this: it takes us days/weeks/months to write the story you love and read within an hour or two, but it takes you literally 3 minutes to write a comment.


	4. Problem #3: Author and story appreciation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First half for readers, second mostly for new authors or for thos who don't know how AO3 counters work.

So, this is a theme that I bring up because of everything I’ve written before. Because of the commenters who bitch about out pace of writing and also the mean silent readers. Because if you like a story enough to complain about our slow pace or what we write, please, think about how the person, who gives you these stories, feels. I know that you come for the story and not us authors, but if the author isn’t feeling well, the story probably won’t be written. And if because of the hate and constant bitching the author grows to hate the forum and even writing, the story you want to read won’t be ever completed. They will just leave it like that, because they grow to hate the story.

So, please, appreciate the author. They work hard for your enjoyment.

Kudos, bookmarks and subscription are also a form of appreciation. All of the kudos can be seen on the preview of the story in the timeline, but not all the bookmarks. If you don’t have an AO3 account, haven’t updated a story or are simply new to AO3, let me tell you, that when you go into your statistics, you see completely different numbers than what you see under the stories.  
One reason is because subscription numbers can only be seen in the statistics.

And the second is, that when you make a bookmark, it gives you an option to make it private. And the private bookmarks only get counted into the number that’s shown in the statistic. So before you think a story is flop, because the bookmark number is low, please, still do read the story. It’s probably just that most of their bookmarks are private.

Like, let me bring an example. In the moment I’m writing this “chapter” (27.01.2018.) my story, Regrets – which is my most popular one – has 40 bookmarks on the counter beneath the story summary. But in reality, it had 70 if we count the private bookmarks. There’s a _little_ difference, right?

So do not worry. Your readers appreciate your story, they just keep it to themselves and you.

And to be honest, I’m also guilty in this, I only have private bookmarks for some reason, I don’t feel comfortable letting everyone know what I’ve bookmarked and what I’ve not.  
And as I’ve said it once to one of my great friends so is also an author on AO3 and once had a breakdown over the comment numbers on her story: only look at your statistics. Think about the number of the bookmarks, which shows how many people want to remember your story. Look at the number of subscriptions, which shows how many people love your stories enough to want their email boxes spammed with your updates on that story. Or even with any update of yours if their subscribed to YOU. Look at the kudos and the views. And you will see how much the people appreciate your work, even if they do not comment.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Because damn, they aren't easy.

Sometimes an author writes out that they take prompts. And usually all hell breaks loose. There are 500 new prompts within half an hour, and all of them are different. But still, all of them are waiting for us to be written.   
But, to be honest, not every prompt makes an author’s mind work. Sure, we probably get a few scenes instantly, but not everything will turn into a full-fledged story afterwards. Because no matter how hard we try, we can’t fill all the prompts. Maybe we’re not in the mood for a story like that. Maybe we don’t currently stan the right ship for it. (Because not every story is suitable for every ship.) And I could list 100 more things like these that stands as a reason of why we didn’t fill your prompt.

So please, don’t be angry if the author you had the request for didn’t write it. Because it maybe that the story you wanted wasn’t meant to be written by them. Maybe they are just working on it now and haven’t posted it. So please, be patient, or if it really doesn’t come, then ask the author about it. Just remember to be respectful and friendly, and I’m pretty sure they will answer your questions. And if they don’t write it, just post it out on Twitter or somewhere where they take prompts and wait. One day, someone will come. 

Now, this goes out for every author who has ever wanted to do an X day challenge. Don’t. Don’t unless you’re a masochist and love your tendon sheath inflammation. It’s a huge pain in the ass. These kind of challenges are actually pretty hard to do on a higher level, because it basically forces the ‘quantity or quality’ mindset over you, because you need to write fast, unless you write all X many pieces beforehand and only start updating later on. And even then, you will feel how freaking hard it is to actually carry on a longer one of these challenge, like a 30 days one or so. 5 or 7 days long is somehow okay, but it’s really hard to basically push and force out 30, 50 or 100 of these stories. 

I did a 100 days “challenge” from the 2nd of November till today, 11th of February. And to be honest, I only wrote drabbles, because I only wanted to do little scenes, that could basically function as prompt or as a base if you want it. And even though neither of these went over 1500 words, it was really, really hard to force out 100 (101 in reality, because one of them had two chapters) of these out, because sometimes I didn’t want to write. Sometimes I felt like it was useless doing it. (I did this as a goodbye gift to my readers.) Sometimes it was just too much of a pain to do it.   
So yeah, please, think twice before you start something like this. 

I have finished it, so I’m not saying that it is impossible. But please, think about if it’s really worth the pain of the tendon sheath inflammation and the hatred you will feel towards this after the 37th story. 

And don’t even get me started on NaNoWriMo! (I love it, but it also kind of pushes the quantity over quality thing, because it’s better to edit and correct later when you actually have got all 50K+ words.)


	6. Problem #5: Author’s note

This is a problem where I can get behind both party a lot. But for the first time since I’ve started writing this, I’m going to start with the reader’s part first, because there is a thing that really annoys me personally. I need to highlight this word: PERSONALLY. Because someone might not mind it as much as I do, but it gets on my nerves every single time I read something like this.   
And it is when someone places an author’s note in the middle of the fucking paragraph. 

Sometimes even in the middle of a sentence saying : **A/N: all pun intended.** or **A/N: Awh sweet *insert character’s name* doesn’t know what to do. I just wanna hug him/her.**   
No. Just no. By all means, please STOP DOING THIS. Because all the work you put into setting the mood and writing the scene in a way that pulls the reader in is going to waste because of this one little line. Because it breaks the mood, pulls away the reader’s attention, and it doesn’t matter what kind of story it is, makes it so ridiculous and amateur looking as it can be. Have you ever seen a printed book that had a random author’s note in the middle of the scene just to make sure everybody sees that there was a pun? No! Or if you did, send it to me, because I literally have 300+ books at home, I’ve read them all, and I have never seen one. And if you need to point someone attention to the pun, then that pun was either so not worthy of being there that it was useless writing down. Or if it good that it’s there, then trust me, the reader will notice it on their own, without this kind of assistance. 

Don’t get me wrong, if you did it once, it’s not a big deal. Just don’t do it all the time, because it gets really, REALLY fucking annoying after a while. 

 

And now, let’s get to the other side of the coin and see why authors write author’s notes.

I’m pretty sure you have noticed that AO3 allows an author to write notes both before and after the chapter, and most author’s use it out. In the first one are usually the warnings about that chapter (if it’s not in the chapter’s summary) and things like them thanking their beta and stuff like that. And on the end of the chapter are the one where the author provides their media so you can connect them. And they usually use the ending note to ask stuff about their story or the chapter, to get your insights of it, so they know how to approve it. Some might even give fun fact about the writing process of the story or about their characters, storyline, anything. They use these notes to get closer to their readers. To let them see more about the story, or learn more about the readers. 

It’s just that a lot of readers skip this note. And it’s their right to do so. Like, if you don’t want to read it, then you nobody will force you to do so. I just really recommend you to do so, because usually information about the next chapter can also be found in this note. Like the date when it’s going to be updated, or if it’s delayed then why is it delayed and things like this, so that you won’t need to be nervous unnecessarily about not knowing about it anything and participating it. 

And yes, I know that these author’s notes aren’t the ones that annoy readers. I just thought I will say something about them. 

And now, let’s get to the real deal here. And it’s when the author’s post a 2K+ note instead of a chapter in the middle of a multichaptered story

And if someone does this, it’s usually never a good thing, because authors only do this when they are going onto a long, long or even a never ending hiatus. That’s why we need you to understand, that we don’t write out these notes just to get your hopes up about the chapter and then crush them, because it’s fun for us. We are the ones who want to write these notes the least. But we do it, because we want to give you a heads up about shit, and not give you a surprise 4 months hiatus without any warning. 

So as always, we try to do what might be the best for you in our eyes, and sometimes this can’t be expressed in 5K characters. (That’s around 1000-1200 words.) So please, don’t get angry over it. Don’t leave rude comments under that post. It will be taken down once the author comes back, and updates the real new chapter. 

Neither you, nor us want these notes, but sometimes, they are necessary. Please, try to be understanding about it.


	7. Problem #6: Non-English native writers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Because yes, there are a lot of us out there...

As a non-English native writer who writes her stories in English, I think I can say that I know everything about this problem here. Even though this is mostly problem for the readers and the writer themselves, because I don’t think this would really affect any other writer. 

First of all, yes, I know it’s really annoying to read a story full of grammatical mistakes. Because even though I’m not English native, I also notice the mistakes in other people’s stories. It’s just that…. most writers HATE to read back their own stories, because they know they aren’t going to be satisfied with it. And even though they know they really fucking should read it back, they don’t do it. (I’m guilty in this, this is why my fics are full of mistakes and typos.)  
But even if they read it back, it happens that they don’t notice every mistake they make. Because it’s not the language they are most comfortable with and what they can actually use the best.  
I’m sure this is what you want to ask right now: “ _Then why do they write in English? Why not in their native language?”_

Well, this can have a lot of reasons. In some places in the world, there aren’t many forums for fanfictions. Or there isn’t a big community enough that would read the fics. Maybe they feel uncomfortable writing it in their native language. (This is a legit thing, I feel this all the time. I can write a 10 pages long sex scene in English without batting an eye or feeling embarrassed, but I can’t even think about the word ‘kiss’ in my native language without blushing or wanting to slam my head into the wall.) 

Or as it was in my case, they want to show the world their story, want to hear people’s thoughts and if you write your story in English, you can have a bigger audience. (I’m an attention whore when it comes to showing people my writing. Sorry not sorry. Comments and feedbacks are my life power. ) 

Now, back to what I really want to say. I’m pretty sure everyone has learned at least one foreign language in their life. Now imagine trying to write a 50k+ story in it after just one year of learning it. Seems hard, maybe even impossible, right? 

Because this is what I did. 

Now, can you imagine me writing the story without any mistakes in it? You can’t, am I right? 

But these authors KNOW that they aren’t fluent in that language yet, and they know that they make mistakes, that’s why they usually put the “English isn’t my first/native/mother language” tag onto their stories, so that the readers will know what they are signing up for when they start reading the story. And usually these authors write a note under or before every chapter saying: _“Sorry for the mistakes. If you found one, please point it out, and I’ll correct it.”_ or _“I’m searching for a beta.”_ Because most of the time these author don’t know ANYONE in the community and have no clue about how to start searching for a beta.  
And to be honest, most of the readers are sweethearts when it comes down to this. they usually help the author out and point out the mistakes while still being respectful. And we, non-English native speaker authors appreciate this a lot. And it’s also a win-win situation, because it helps us grow and get better at the language, which leads us to that we make less mistakes and the story becomes more enjoyable. 

But don’t think that a comment that demands us to get a beta will help a lot. Like, damn, I’ve been writing out that I’m searching for a beta for chapters, but I still haven’t got any clue how or where to start searching for one. And because of this, the author probably would feel like they should stop writing. Just imagine being in their place. They trying their hand at something new, in a foreign language are insecure about every single sentence, asking for help in any way they could, it all the feedback they get is:

_“get a beta pls. it can’t be enjoyed like this”_

And yes, this is a real comment that I got when I was writing my first story on AO3. My luck was that I was just uploading a promised two shot the next day and I couldn’t step back from it. So I wrote a very long author’s note about this issue. And I am probably one of the luckiest writers on AO3 with my readers, because even though there are lots of them who prefer to be silent, they took their time to comment and said that I’m doing great and a lot of them offered to be my beta. And they would’ve had helped me out on my first word if we had found a platform we could talk.

But sadly not everyone is as lucky as I am. So if you ever see a fic with any of the aforementioned signs that show that the author isn’t writing in their native language, please, pretty please, don’t just demand them to get a beta. Just point out one mistake, and tell them how to correct it. I don’t think this is too much work for you. If you could write the demand, then you can write this much also, right? 

Of course, these aren’t excuses for these writers to slack off. Because at the end of the day, it’s YOUR responsibility to provide your readers a quality fic, without any mistake. If this means that you need to read your own fic four times before uploading, then do so! I know it’s not nice to do it, because you see how awful your writing is (to you), but this road leads to the stories that you will be actually proud of. Proud of the storyline, proud of the writing style. I know it seems impossible, but it is not. 

There are a lot of us who had made it. There are a lot of us who are currently working on it. And you can also make it if you don’t give up at the first negative comment you get. I know it hurts, and I know it will bother you to no end, but it’s a great lesson that needs to be learned. 

I believe in you, and I hope that you can also believe in yourself. 


	8. Problem #7: Reader appreciation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Because it's the readers who make it worth writing until your hand hurts and your head explodes from exhaution.

Alright, this is solely to the authors, because, to be honest, sometimes I see authors that make me more furious than all of the previously said things together. And what makes me this mad is when an author does not appreciate their readers as much as they deserve it. Because damn, you would be nowhere without them. 

Yes, your readers aren’t perfect. They don’t leave as many comments as you would like to. Maybe your new story didn’t get as many kudos as the previous one. Maybe they only make private bookmarks and it doesn’t boost up your stories popularity to the people outside you and them. But they are the reason why you update. They are who gave you those comments that were given to you. They were the ones who pressed the kudos button without any use on every chapter, because it only lets them give one on every story. They are the ones, who subscribed. They are the ones who made any type of bookmark, because they want to remember your story.   
And they are the reason you can be as high as you are right now.

So if they leave a comment, then at least take that literally half a minute from your life to reply to it. Even if it’s just a _“Thank you for reading and commenting!”_. It’s not that freaking hard, even with a tendon sheath inflammation that makes you want to chew your arm off from the pain. Be grateful for those bookmarks. Be thankful for any kudos you get. And not to mention the subscribes. And the hits.   
Because just as you aren’t obligated to finish the story they like, or write the prompt they want, they also aren’t obligated to read your fics. 

And I know that you say: _“Then don’t read it.”_ But if they leave you, we all know that you are going to bitch about not getting comments,/bookmarks/hits and eventually lose the will to write.   
Of course, this doesn’t apply to every author. Some can go without any of these, keeping up the ‘fuck cares’ attitude, but then let me ask you this: Why are you updating? You aren’t going further than you would do if you were writing to your desk drawer. 

So please, appreciate your readers and treat them right. Because they are the reason why it’s worth writing that 50k+ fic. They are reason why it’s worth getting that freaking tendon sheath inflammation. And they are the reason why it’s worth improving and keeping on going forward.


	9. Dear readers and authors,

Dear readers and authors,

please, realise, that you need each other. You can say that there will be someone else who comes. Someone else who reads your fics, someone else who write a fic. But every reader is different, they see a story different ways and every comments lets you see your story in a whole other perspective. People are different, they see different beauty in everything.

And also, every story is unique in its own way. You can point out two similar stories, but they are never going to be the same. Maybe the story that had given you a life changing experience while reading would have never been written if there wasn’t for that single comment that gave back the author’s will to write. And you don’t know how many of these life changing stories got cut off in the middle or where never even started, because the author haven’t got THAT ONE comment when they needed it the most. 

So please, take care of each other and gave each other the love and attention they deserve. If your author asks for a comment, please, don’t be sorry for that three moments it would take for you to write it. And if your readers ask you to write something, please, at least consider seriously doing it.

Because without the reader, the author would be nowhere and same goes the other way around.


End file.
